Dynamic package personalization system

ABSTRACT

Mechanisms are provided for efficiently and effectively personalizing product presentation to users. User profile information including images and preferences may be obtained during instore purchase of products such as cereal, cigarettes, soda, snacks, etc. A user selects a particular product and may enter optional preference information. The dynamic package personalization system identifies an image, background, scene, etc., that may appeal to the user and provides the product in personalized packaging with an image of the user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a dynamic package personalizationsystem.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Conventional mechanisms for packaging items for sale rely on extensiveevaluation of target consumers and design for particular effects. Thesepackage designs may be effective, but are typically static. Furthermore,packages may be effective for some target consumers but ineffective forothers. Conventional mechanisms have proved to be moderately effectivein increasing purchase transactions in store, shop, and retailenvironments. However, each of these mechanisms is severely limited.

Consequently, it is desirable to provide improved mechanisms forenhancing and improving packaging for in-store purchases includingvending purchase transactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate particular embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a particular example of system that can be used toimplement various mechanisms of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a particular example of a package personalizationinterface.

FIG. 3 illustrates a particular example of a technique for initiatingpackage personalization.

FIG. 4 illustrates a particular example of a technique for enhancingpackage personalization.

FIG. 5 illustrates a particular example of a server.

DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to some specific examples of theinvention including the best modes contemplated by the inventors forcarrying out the invention. Examples of these specific embodiments areillustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention isdescribed in conjunction with these specific embodiments, it will beunderstood that it is not intended to limit the invention to thedescribed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

For example, the techniques and mechanisms of the present invention willbe described in the context of particular in-store purchase transactionsand vending machine transactions. However, it should be noted that thetechniques and mechanisms of the present invention apply to a variety ofdifferent transactions and retail environments. In the followingdescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. Particular exampleembodiments of the present invention may be implemented without some orall of these specific details. In other instances, well known processoperations have not been described in detail in order not tounnecessarily obscure the present invention.

Various techniques and mechanisms of the present invention willsometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it shouldbe noted that some embodiments include multiple iterations of atechnique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism unless notedotherwise. For example, a system uses a processor in a variety ofcontexts. However, it will be appreciated that a system can use multipleprocessors while remaining within the scope of the present inventionunless otherwise noted. Furthermore, the techniques and mechanisms ofthe present invention will sometimes describe a connection between twoentities. It should be noted that a connection between two entities doesnot necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety ofother entities may reside between the two entities. For example, aprocessor may be connected to memory, but it will be appreciated that avariety of bridges and controllers may reside between the processor andmemory. Consequently, a connection does not necessarily mean a direct,unimpeded connection unless otherwise noted.

Overview

Mechanisms are provided for efficiently and effectively personalizingproduct presentation to users. User profile information including imagesand preferences may be obtained during in-store purchase of productssuch as cereal, cigarettes, soda, snacks, etc. A user selects aparticular product and may enter optional preference information. Thedynamic package personalization system identifies an image, background,scene, etc., that may appeal to the user and provides the product inpersonalized packaging with an image of the user.

Example Embodiments

Current techniques for enhancing product packaging are limited. In someexamples, a variety of different designs are provided for the sameproduct. Customers may select a design that is particularly appealing.In some instances, the product provider may vary product packagingfrequently in order to identify more popular types of packaging.Extensive customer base evaluations may be conducted in order toidentify effective designs. However, each of these mechanisms haslimitations. New designs may appeal to particular customers, but mayalso alienate traditional customers. Celebrity images may appeal tocustomers who happen to be fans, but may be meaningless to othercustomers. A variety of designs may be interesting to some, but may beconfusing to others.

According to various embodiments, supermarkets, retail stores, shopaisles, vending machines, showrooms, etc., are equipped with packageprinting interfaces as well as well as input interfaces such asmicrophones, cameras, sensors, detectors, etc. When a packagepersonalization system detects a potential customer, the packagepersonalization system may obtain information about the customer. Insome examples, information may include preference information providedby the customer to allow personalization of product packaging. Forexample, the customer may indicate a preference for movie stars andclassic packaging designs. The customer may have also provided personalimages or pictures that can be used on the packaging itself.

In other examples, pictures may be taken of a particular customer andused to either display what a product package will potentially resemble,or may be used when the customer actually purchases the product and apackage label is printed and included on the product. In some examples,the image may be combined with a celebrity image and a backgroundselected using preference information provided by a user. The image maybe displayed prior to purchase and provided on an actual product packagesuch as a cereal box, soda can, cigarette carton, etc.

According to various embodiments, the customer can also select their ownpackage design including their image from options provided by a packagepersonalization system. According to various embodiments, a packagepersonalization display depicts numerous products with packagesincluding the customer image or other images selected to appeal to theuser. The product packages may be dynamically altered based on userfeedback and user presentation. In particular embodiments, the packagepersonalization system takes into account clothing type, accessories,hair color, height, weight, skin tone, amount of makeup, etc., indeciding the type of packaging to present to the user. That is, thepackage personalization system may take into account observed customercharacteristics in determining the type of packaging provided to theuser. A customer in formal dress may be provided with product andproduct packaging options that appeal to formal and professionalcustomers. A customer in casual clothing may be provided with productand product packaging options that appeal to casual customers.

According to various embodiments, if a package personalization systemdetects that a consumer is nearby or interested in a particular product,or if the consumer activates the package personalization system, theconsumer is provided with a number of product and product packageoptions that are selected to suit the customer's needs. In particularembodiments, proximity to a display automatically triggers packagepersonalization. In some examples, biometric data can also be obtainedfrom individual customers and provided to dynamically personalizeproduct packages.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a dynamic package personalizationsystem. A variety of package personalization interfaces 101, 103, 105,107, and 109 may be located in store aisles, shops, vending machines,showrooms, real estate properties, or provided on mobile devices. Thesepackage personalization interfaces 101, 103, 105, 107, and 109 may bewired or wireless, connected or disconnected. Wired interfaces mayprovide higher throughput, but wireless interfaces may allow for greatermobility. According to various embodiments, package personalizationinterfaces 101, 103, 105, 107, and 109 have displays, sensors, cameras,microphones, motion detectors, infrared sensors, scent emitters,cameras, etc., that improve package personalization. Packagepersonalization interfaces 101, 103, 105, 107, and 109 may be activatedby a user manually or automatically based on proximity detection ormotion detection. In particular embodiments, package personalizationinterfaces 101, 103, 105, 107, and 109 may always be active and may havea particular remote agent associated with it.

For example, a display for a snack vending machine may be provided witha package personalization interface 107. The display may providepackaging options to the customer. According to various embodiments, thepackage personalization interfaces 101, 103, 105, 107, and 109 areconnected over a network 131 to package personalization logic 111 in apackage personalization system. In particular embodiments, the packagepersonalization logic 111 matches product package designs to particularusers.

According to various embodiments, the package personalization logic 111may be one or more computer systems, switches, controllers, etc. Packagepersonalization logic 111 may have access to a user profile and imagedatabase 113 and a product package database 115. The images may alreadybe available or may be obtained using a camera. A product packagedatabase 115 may include numerous package designs that can be combinedwith user images. The package personalization logic 111 may also beconnected to external image database 121 to obtain celebrity images,background images, etc., that may be appealing to a customer. Forexample, the package personalization logic 111 may determine that aproduct of interest for a particular demographic profile can be soldmost effectively if matched to a particular celebrity and backgroundscene.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a package personalization interface201. The package personalization interface 201 operates to packagepersonalization based on customer information that the packagepersonalization system may already have or is currently obtaining.According to various embodiments, the package personalization interface201 includes an output interface 211 with a screen/display/projector213, a mechanized/actuated product presentation assembly 215, speakers217, and a package printer 219. The package printer 219 may use dyesublimation, stereolithography, flexography, laser, ink jet, etc. scentemitters 219. The package personalization interface 201 may also have aninput interface 231 that includes a touchscreen 233,keypad/keyboard/mouse/touchpad input 235, a microphone 237, biometricsensors 239, and a camera 241. The package personalization interface 201may also have a wireless transceiver 251 or a wired interface thatallows connection to remote data including celebrity images, backgroundimages, help desk agents, etc.

According to various embodiments, a consumer can manually activate apackage personalization interface 201 by interacting with touchscreen233 or keypad/keyboard/mouse/touchpad 235. Proximity sensors, motiondetectors, or other biometric sensors 239 as well as noise detectors andmicrophones 237 can also trigger activation as well as acquireinformation about the consumer. The package personalization interface201 may be able to help identify what product the consumer is currentlyevaluating, the level of interest and excitement, the duration ofinterest, etc. According to various embodiments, the packagepersonalization interface 201 may also be able to obtain informationidentify if a particular consumer has viewed the product before.

In particular embodiments, a package personalization system can interactwith customers through package personalization output interface 211 andspeakers 217. A camera can obtain one or more images of the customer.Scent emitters 219 may be used to enhance a consumer's experience basedon perceived mood. It should be noted that although particularinterfaces are described, a wide variety of sensors, displays, motors,sensory input mechanisms, etc., can be used to enhance a consumer andremote agent connection.

FIG. 3 illustrates a particular example of a technique for implementingpackage personalization. According to various embodiments, a sessioninitiation trigger is received from a user at 301. The trigger mayresult from motion activation, proximity activation, a key press, voiceprompt, etc. Alternatively, a trigger may not be needed as a packagepersonalization system is always online and a remote agent is constantlyon standby. According to various embodiments, user characteristics areidentified at 303. In particular embodiments, a package personalizationsystem may perform facial recognition to determine if the user hasperused the store or has evaluated the product before. The packagepersonalization system may also identify demographic profile informationabout the user, such as the age of the user, gender, height, weight,ethnicity, etc. In some examples, users may voluntarily provideinformation to the package personalization system to allow the packagepersonalization system to more accurately select appropriate packaging.

According to various embodiments, target product and/or servicecharacteristics are also identified at 305. In particular embodiments, auser image is obtained at 307. The user image may be obtained from adatabase or may be dynamically obtained as the user is browsing orevaluating an item. According to various embodiments, the user image isintegrated with the product package at 309. In particular embodiments,the user image is integrated with a celebrity image and a backgroundthat is determined to be appealing to the user. According to variousembodiments, product package options are provided to the user. In someexamples, product package options without the customer image areprovided along with product package options that include the customerimage. Various celebrities, backgrounds, and scenes can be provided withthe customer image.

FIG. 4 illustrates a particular example of a technique for generating apersonalized package. According to various embodiments, user profileinformation is identified at 401. User profile information may includeuser preferences voluntarily submitted by a user, user demographicinformation, user interests, biometric information, etc. At 403, one ormore user images are obtained. The user images may be obtained from adatabase or user submissions, public data, user available images, etc.In particular embodiments, the user images may be obtained dynamicallyusing a camera or other imaging device. According to variousembodiments, product package options are identified at 405. Productpackage options may be preconfigured for particular items that the useris evaluating. In some examples, numerous preconfigured product packageoptions are identified along with dynamically customizable productpackage options.

At 407, one or more user images are integrated with scenes, backgrounds,imagery, celebrity photos, etc., that correspond to user preferences andinterests. In some examples, the user may be determined to betechnologically savvy, and the user image is integrated with technologyoriented backgrounds and scenes. In another examples, the user isdetermined to be a fan of cutting edge clothing. Celebrities with asimilar style may be selected for depiction with the user. userdemographic information is identified. At 409, personalized packageoptions are provided to the user. It should be noted that in someinstances, the user may not be provided with any options. Options may bepresented on a display and shown in the context of a product package.According to various embodiments, a selected personalized package isprinted onto a product container at 411.

FIG. 5 illustrates a particular example of a server that can be used toselect remote agents. A variety of devices and systems can implementparticular examples of the present invention. According to particularexample embodiments, a system 500 suitable for implementing particularembodiments of the present invention includes a processor 501, a memory503, an interface 511, and a bus 515 (e.g., a PCI bus). The interface511 may include separate input and output interfaces, or may be aunified interface supporting both operations. When acting under thecontrol of appropriate software or firmware, the processor 501 isresponsible for such tasks such as optimization. Various speciallyconfigured devices can also be used in place of a processor 501 or inaddition to processor 501. The complete implementation can also be donein custom hardware. The interface 511 is typically configured to sendand receive data packets or data segments over a network. Particularexamples of interfaces the device supports include Ethernet interfaces,frame relay interfaces, cable interfaces, DSL interfaces, token ringinterfaces, and the like.

In addition, various very high-speed interfaces may be provided such asfast Ethernet interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, ATM interfaces,HSSI interfaces, POS interfaces, FDDI interfaces and the like.Generally, these interfaces may include ports appropriate forcommunication with the appropriate media. In some cases, they may alsoinclude an independent processor and, in some instances, volatile RAM.The independent processors may control such communications intensivetasks as packet switching, media control and management.

According to particular example embodiments, the system 900 uses memory903 to store data and program instructions and maintained a local sidecache. The program instructions may control the operation of anoperating system and/or one or more applications, for example. Thememory or memories may also be configured to store received metadata andbatch requested metadata.

Because such information and program instructions may be employed toimplement the systems/methods described herein, the present inventionrelates to tangible, machine readable media that include programinstructions, state information, etc. for performing various operationsdescribed herein. Examples of machine-readable media include hard disks,floppy disks, magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROM disks andDVDs; magneto-optical media such as optical disks, and hardware devicesthat are specially configured to store and perform program instructions,such as read-only memory devices (ROM) and programmable read-only memorydevices (PROMs). Examples of program instructions include both machinecode, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher levelcode that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.

Although many of the components and processes are described above in thesingular for convenience, it will be appreciated by one of skill in theart that multiple components and repeated processes can also be used topractice the techniques of the present invention.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that changes in the form and details of thedisclosed embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention beinterpreted to include all variations and equivalents that fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: detecting the presence of acustomer in close proximity to a target product; obtaining a customerimage associated with the customer; identifying the target product and aplurality of package options associated with the target product;integrating the customer image with the plurality of package options;printing the customer image and one of the plurality of package optionsonto a product container.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the customerimage is integrated with a celebrity image and the plurality of packageoptions.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein customer profile informationassociated with the customer is identified.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein styling of the package is adjusted based on user profileinformation.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein customer profileinformation includes demographic data and biometric data.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein customer profile information includes customerinterests and styles.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofpackage options are provided to the customer prior to product purchase.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the target product is included in avending machine.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer image isobtained using a camera.
 10. A system, comprising: an interfaceconfigured to detect a customer in close proximity to a target productand obtain a customer image associated with the customer; a processorconfigured to identify the target product and a plurality of packageoptions associated with the target product and integrate the customerimage with the plurality of package options; a printing mechanismconfigured to imbue the customer image and one of the plurality ofpackage options onto a product container.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the customer image is integrated with a celebrity image and theplurality of package options.
 12. The system of claim 10, whereincustomer profile information associated with the customer is identified.13. The system of claim 12, wherein styling of the package is adjustedbased on user profile information.
 14. The system of claim 12, whereincustomer profile information includes demographic data and biometricdata.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein customer profile informationincludes customer interests and styles.
 16. The system of claim 10,wherein the plurality of package options are provided to the customerprior to product purchase.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein thetarget product is included in a vending machine.
 18. The system of claim10, wherein the customer image is obtained using a camera.
 19. Anapparatus, comprising: means for detecting the presence of a customer inclose proximity to a target product; means for obtaining a customerimage associated with the customer; means for identifying a targetproduct and a plurality of package options associated with the targetproduct; means for integrating the customer image with the plurality ofpackage options; means for printing the customer image and one of theplurality of package options onto a product container.
 20. The apparatusof claim 19, wherein the customer image is integrated with a celebrityimage and the plurality of package options.